This is an excerpt from a summary of Gary Taubes book “The case for Keto”. He has also written books “Why We Get Fat” and “The Case Against Sugar”.
Most of us have been led to believe that the only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. If you’re having a hard time losing weight, you just need to get this “energy balance” corrected.
But… The science shows that it doesn’t work that way.
As Taubes puts it in Why We Get Fat: “The science tells us that obesity is ultimately the result of a hormonal imbalance, not a caloric one—specifically, the stimulation of insulin secretion caused by eating easily digestible, carbohydrate-rich foods: refined carbohydrates, including flour and cereal grains, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and sugars, like sucrose (table sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup. These carbohydrates literally make us fat, and by driving us to accumulate fat, they make us hungrier and they make us sedentary.”
I love the way Nobel prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn puts it in her great book, The Telomere Effect. She tells us: “When we want to spot the parties responsible for metabolic disease, we point a finger at the highly processed, sugary foods and sweetened drinks. (We’re looking at you, packaged cakes, candies, cookies, and sodas.) These are the foods and drinks most associated with compulsive eating. They light up the reward system in your brain. They are almost immediately absorbed into the blood, and they trick the brain into thinking we are starving and need more food. While we used to think all nutrients had similar effects on weight and metabolism—a ‘calorie is a calorie’—this is wrong. Simply reducing sugars, even if you eat the same number of calories, can lead to metabolic improvements. Simple carbs wreak more havoc on metabolism and control over appetite than other types of foods.”
And, here’s the ultimate thing to know…
Taubes tells us: “One obvious implication of this basic human physiology is that if we want to get fat out of our cells in any biologically efficient way, we have to keep the insulin levels in our circulation low. We have to create that negative stimulus of insulin deficiency, which means not eating carbohydrates. It’s all surprisingly simple if we work from the assumption—I would think a very reasonable one—that human physiology, biochemistry, and endocrinology are actually relevant to a problem like obesity and why we get fat. The authorities, for the past half-century, have not done that.”
I find this very fascinating, during my own weight loss periods I always stayed away from carbohydrates and starches as much as I could. Granted I was constantly changing what I was doing or how I was doing it, I’ve never heard the insulin angle. I’m going to try and get my hands on these books, thank you Larry!
Great read, and if you look at the government recommended eating food pyramid they have the bulk of your required eating as carbs. Like most things governmenty they have it ass backwards.
Find something more scientific, like Dr Joel Fuhrman or DR. Greger. The concern should be nutrition, not weight. Eat G-BOMBS – greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seed (and nuts). There is all the protein you need in plants. We don’t need meat, which is mostly an environmental and health disaster. Stay away from saturated fats and trans-fats. Trans are still allowed if below a certain threshold. Partially hydrogenated on the label is trans-fat. Avoid white bread, white rice and white pasta. Michael Pollan says eat real food, mostly plants and not too much. If it grew on a plant, it is probably OK. If it was made in a plant, it probably isn’t.
Awesome CN Live this year. Can’t wait to bring the team again for 2023!